Former Carillion chief fined by FCA for role in misleading investors

The former boss of the construction company Carillion has been fined by the UK’s financial watchdog for his role in misleading investors before its collapse eight years ago.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Richard Howson £237,700 after Carillion’s ex-chief executive withdrew his challenge to the regulator’s punishment.The watchdog ruled that Howson was “aware of serious financial troubles” in the group’s construction business but “failed to reflect this in company announcements or alert its board and audit committee, leading to poor oversight”.The FCA said the primary responsibility for communicating accurate financial information lay with the group finance director, but that Howson “acted recklessly” and “was knowingly concerned” in breaches of market abuse and listing rules.It comes eight years after the demise of the government contractor, which was one of the biggest construction and facilities management companies in the UK

Volkswagen aims to cut costs by 20% by 2028 in restructuring plan, report says

Volkswagen plans to cut costs by 20% by 2028, with plant closures not ruled out, as part of an effort to reshape the company in the face of increasing competition from China, according to reports.The German automotive company’s chief executive, Oliver Blume, and its finance chief, Arno Antlitz, are said to have presented a plan for “massive” savings at a meeting of the company’s top executives last month.Declining sales, high costs, the rise in sales of Chinese cars in Europe and robotisation are forcing manufacturers and suppliers across the car industry in Germany to create resilience in the sector.Volkswagen announced plans for deep restructuring across its brands and plants 18 months ago as part of an effort to save €10bn (£8.7bn), a move that was seen in Germany as “an earthquake” in one of the country’s most famous companies

Trump donor who criticized offshoring to close Ohio plant and move work to China

John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire and one of Donald Trump’s earliest Wall Street backers, is planning to offshore an Ohio manufacturing plant to China despite heavy pushback from employees.Workers at the plant call the move “a slap in our face”, after Paulson vocally defended domestic manufacturing, and are fighting to keep the plant open.Conn Selmer, the largest US manufacturer of brass and orchestra instruments, told the union it planned to offshore most work at its Eastlake, Ohio, plant to China by the end of June 2026, eliminating 150 jobs.United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2359, which represents the 150 employees, said workers were informed of the closing when it first sat down to bargain over their new union contract last month.“We came in with a full proposal, fully prepared to bargain, and they started off with a presentation of telling us how bad we were doing,” said Robert Hines, president of UAW Local 2359 and an employee at the plant

Britons feeling ‘dismal’ about finances amid mounting debts, survey finds

The mood among UK households about their finances is “dismal”, according to research which suggested consumer spending remains sluggish and debts are mounting.Consumer confidence in the UK is running at its lowest level in two years, a survey by S&P Global found, as households worry about their debts, their future financial prospects, and their savings.S&P said consumers’ pessimism “matches the dismal weather seen so far this year” and said the recent wet weather had “not helped to lift the low spirits seen among households”.The UK Consumer Sentiment Index survey, which has been running since 2009, posted a reading of 44.8 in February

Lloyds investigating after using staff’s bank account data in pay talks

The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has told staff that it is investigating a controversial decision to use employee bank account data during pay talks with unions last year.In a town hall meeting open to the bank’s 64,000 staff at the start of February, Charlie Nunn conceded that the move “obviously has created some concern” but tried to assure workers that “we definitely have listened to it”.“We haven’t yet fully worked out what we will do differently going forward, although I think we should just do the investigation fully,” Nunn said, in comments first reported by the Times.Nunn was responding to a staff question over the debacle, in which the bank used aggregated salary, spending and savings data from 30,000 staff accounts as part of a presentation to staff union representatives late last year. That data was used to suggest its lowest-paid staff had been in a better financial position than the wider population in recent years

Royal Mail blames bad weather and sickness for late deliveries

Royal Mail has blamed stormy weather and too many workers being off sick after complaints over missed delivery rounds and late letters.The strain on the postal service has meant rounds are missed on a daily basis and letters have been left undelivered for weeks, according to the BBC, which cited reports from more than a dozen Royal Mail postal staff at different delivery offices.Royal Mail said “short-term disruption to certain routes” was due to “adverse weather, including storms Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra in January, alongside higher than usual sick absence”.“Where a delay affects a route, we work to resolve it as quickly as possible by putting in extra support and reviewing performance daily to restore deliveries as quickly as possible,” they said.The company said that, while it aimed to deliver letters and parcels on time, parcels accounted for more of its deliveries and took up more space in depots and vans than letters